SMALLVILLE COMMENCEMENT THE NOVEL
by KryptonTim
Summary: A novelization of the best finale in Smallville history! Lana Lang murders someone, Lex and Lionel Luthor work against each other to find three kryptonian crystals, and while a meteor shower threatens to tear Smallville apart, Clark Kent finds his destiny
1. Prologue

**PROLOGUE**

Eighteen years ago, a lone ship sailed across the stars from the planet Krypton to the world of Earth cloaked in a meteor shower covered with the pieces of a broken planet. The infant child, Kal-El, was found by an Earth family, Jonathan and Martha Kent, in the Kansas farmtown of Smallville. They took him unto their own, raised him as a humble farmboy and they named him "Clark".

The broken pieces of the planet had a strange effect on the people of Smallville, and scarred the town forever. Smallville was indeed in need of a hero, if not a superhero.

Four years ago, Clark Kent discovered miraculous abilities, that of a super man. He was able to run faster than the fastest man alive. He learned that he could lif up a tractor without even breaking a sweat. He was able to see through solid objects, just by staring at it. He was able to shoot fire from his eyes by looking at it. He was able to listen carefully, and hear amplified sound, just like a dog can. Being endowed with all these super-abilities, he took those abilities and tried to help people and save them from fear and darkness, while trying to please his true love and forge a friendship with an outsider. So, he made a promise to himself that he would never tell anyone this deep dark secret until he himself could come to terms with it. But he held onto the hope that there were others in this world like him. But his father told him that he was from another planet, and that there might not be others like him. But Clark still hoped . . .

Three years ago, Clark Kent found Dr. Virgil Swann, who would change Clark's life forever and learned of his true roots, that he was a survivor from the planet Krypton, which cemented his vow to keep these roots and abilities a secret to his friends. DR. Swann told him that he was the only one from his home planet, and urged him to write his own destiny as Kal-El, the Last Son of Krypton. His biological father, Jor-El, called to him and begged him to fulfill his destiny. He refused and there were dire consequences.

Two years ago, Jonathan Kent made a deal with Jor-El for the custody and destiny of their son. The effects of this deal had serious implications on Jonathan. After these incidents, Clark wanted to shut out his past, and live a normal life. Then in the next year, Jor-El took the boy and reprogrammed and sent him on a crusade to find three crystals. With the help of his mothers' love, he was able to break free from Jor-El's power. But, Clark learned that these crystals has encoded within them the knoweldge of a great civilization, which Clark is the sole survivor of, which were brought to Earth many years ago and hidden across the Earth. Clark is told that if he does not find them, there will be dire consequences.

Meanwhile, a family, the Luthors, whose son, Lex, is a good friend of Clark's but is constantly fighting the darkness bent on finding these crystals and what they mean to life on Earth also hoping to discover how it connects to the young farmboy Clark Kent, and are willing to get them by any means necessary, even pitting themselves against each other. Meanwhile, a rival family, the Teagues, appears in Smallville, whose son Jason is courting Clark Kent's true love also seek the crystals for power. Greed is driving these two families to hunt the crystals. Also, Clark Kent's true love, Lana Lang, is also in search of these crystals, as her ancestor, the Countess Isobel, sarched for them in several hundred years ago. But the search for these crystals drives Lana and Jason further apart.

In the midst of all this, Chloe Sullivan, longtime friend of Clark, sees Clark use his abilities and discovers the secret of his power, but not knowing the shole truth. But she vows to keep to herself that she knows the secret of Clark Kent. She will continue to keep it a secret until Clark decides to tell this secret to her himself. To make things even more complicated, Chloe's cousin, Lois Lane, enters Clark's life and adds a little spice to it as well. After having no place to live, the Kents offer a home to young Lois. So, Clark must try to embark on the Kryptonian Crusade to find these lost crystals before anyone else does. But he has only managed to find one. Lana Lang traveled to China and obtained the second crystal. But the location of the third crystal remains a mystery to Clark, Lana, the Luthors, and the Teagues.

But as Jason's search for the crystals deepens, his relationship with Lana rifts away, thus bringing Clark and Lana closer together. But can Clark and Lana have a truly meaningful relationship with the burden of Clark's secret looming over them like a cloudy day?

After torturing the Luthors, the Teagues manage to learn that Lana Lang has obtained one of the ancient crystals from Lionel Luthor, Lex's father. But Jason Teague has learned the truth, that Lana Lang is not the chosen one these stone are meant for, but actually the Smallville farmboy, Clark Kent, is the chosen one. Jason shares this with Lex, but before Lex can digest it, Lionel kills Jason Teague, sending him plummeting down a waterfall. Meanwhile, Genevieve Teague, Jason's mother, heads to Lana's apartment to get the crystal from her. Will she obtain it?

That is where this story begins.

Truly, a commencement is upon the small town of Smallville, Kansas. Will anyone survive its power? One thing can be said though, after this great commencement is over, no one in Smallville will be the same, ever again.


	2. Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

Lana Lang walked itno her apartment at the Talon. It had been a loing day. She had been all ovwer Metropolis and everywhere trying to prepare for her graduation that was tomorrow. It was a big day for her, for all the students of Smallville High, especially her dear friend Clark Kent.

_Clark,_ she thought. He had always been there for him. For the past 4 years, he had always been there for her, saving her. She and Clark had always tried to have a relationship. But Clark had so many secrets. Neither of them could commit to a relationship. But she knew how she fwelt about him. She loved him dearly. But she also worried about the opther man in her life, Jason Teague. Jason had come from Paris to Smallville at the beginning of Lana's senior year, but his search for some ancient crystals had divided their relationship. She smiled.

She just needed to get some rest so she wouldn't be dozing off tomorrow when she was handed the diploma that said that she would be able to graduate. Lana then locked the door. She was about to move over to the oither part of the apartment in the Talon when she heard a voice.

"I have to applaud you, Lana."

Lana about jumped out of her skin when she heard someone's voice in her apartment. She then saw a lady dressed in very fashionable clothing, come out from behind the shadows of her apartment. It was Jason's mother, Genevieve Teague! What was she doing in her apartment. Jason had told Lana all about his mother. He told him that she was not a force to be reckoned with. She said that she was manipulatiuve, devious, and was able to hold her own in war of words. But why was Jason's mother in her apartment? What did she want from Lana? Genevieve moved from the shadows into the light, and continued speaking.

"I raised my son to have a willpower that couldn't be broken by anything. Except his love for you, apparently."

Why was Genevieve going on this huge tirade? She hadn't done anything to her or to Jason, so she still wondered wehat Jason's mother was doing in her apartment. Lana looked down and couldn't help but notice the gun in Genevieve's hand. Apparently, she wasn't messing around. So why was Genevieve in her apartment, with a gun no less? If there was one thing that Clark had taught her it was to be brave. So Lana decided to be brave and she stood in front of Genevieve and decided to confront her and ask her herself.

"What do you want from me?"

Genevieve just smiled at Lana, as if it were obvious, and replied simply, "The crystal."

Lana looked at Genevieve with a look of absolute shock. So apparently Genevieve shared Jason's obsession with those ancient crystals that were linked to the mysteriopus tattoo that appeared mystically on her back. Like mother, like son.

Then Genevieve continued, "The one Lionel gave you."

Now Lana was beginning to wonder if Jason's mother was a lunatic. Because it was true she had one of the ancient crystals. Jason had retrieved one earlier this year in China, and she had stolen it from him, but Lionel - - and she was referring to Lionel Luthor, resident billionaire of Smallville, rivaled only by his son, Lex - - had not given her any of those crystals. So Lana had no idea what Genevieve was talking about. So Lana thn moved to call Genevieve on her bluff.

"Lionel? He never gave me any - - "

Apparently, Genevieve wasn;t going to have any of that, because Lana hadn't even finished her sentence before Genevieve cocked the gun and pointed it at her forehead. Lana was really starting to get scared now, but she couldn't let that show. She had to try to stay as brave as long as she could. That's what Clark would do.

"I'm going to find it whether you help me or not. Without my help would take longer, my dear Lana, and I don't have a lot of time."

Then, Lana realized that there was no way out of this mess other than to do what Genevieve wanted , and that was to give her the crystal. She didn't want to do it, as she felt that the crystals could point her to her history, her present, and even her future destiny. But, maybe it wasn't worth it. After all, it was just a little piece of rock. So, Lana opened her purse and pulled out a small red handkerchief. As she pulled out this red handkerchief, Genevieve lowered her weapon, as she was finally beginning to be pleased that Lana was doing what she wanted. Lana then opened the handkerchief, as it had been folded rather neatly, to reveal a small crystal. It was a triuangular-shaped crystal that had a crest, that looked like a triangular shape with an eight in the center. She revealed it to Genevieve, and Genevieve looked at it like that thing in those Lord of the Rings movies. Genevieve just smiled and was about to reach for it and grab it when she did a roundhouse kick and kicked the gun oiut of Genevieve's hand. She was about to make a break for it when Genevieve grabbed Lana from behins and puller her back. Genevieve has grabbed by her hair. She then proceeeded to knock Lana against a lamp, and then continued to hold her tight grip, but let it go as she pushed her to the ground.

Lana was beginning to think that Genevieve was a psychopath after all. But Lana still has grip of the crystal. So at least she still had some leverage against Genevieve. She disn;t get to think about that too much longer because Genevieve grabbed Lana anbd pushed her against a shelf in the apartment. Both Genevieve and Lana grabbed each other by the forearms and tried to push each other. Lana tried to push Genevieve but apparently Genevieve was the stronger woman. Then Genevieve pushed Lana to the ground, and Lana figured it must have taken a lot of strength on both their parts, because they were both on the ground.

As Lana hit the ground, the crystal fell out of her ground. _So much for leverage_, thought Lana. Genevieve was truly on the brink of madness thorighout his whole escapade. Lana was kind of glad that she broke with up with Jason a few months back. As she didn't want to get tangled with Jason's mother, oir get on her bad side, now that she had seen the madness of Genevieve Teague. Lana Lang began to wonder

what Genevieve would be willing to do to get that crystal on the ground.

Lana's question was soon answered when Genevieve proceeded to grab her by the neck and began to choke her. Genevieve was going to kill her. She was beginning to lose her breath, as her throat was being cut off by Genevieve's hold on her. Genevieve obviously didn't see the crystal on the ground, as she was choking her. Or maybe she did see on the ground, adn was just going to kill Lana so she could never have the crystal, and Genevieve could have it for herself. Whatever was going through Genevieve's mind wasn;t good.

As Genevieve's hold on Lana grew stronger, Lana began to feel something in her heart and mind, wanting to break free. She feared that it was the Isobel persona that had been injected into her with the strange tattoo. That persona had always emerged when Lana was in physical danger, almost as a protector. Isobel had arisen when Lana was threatened by Chinese guards a few months ago. She could feel Isobel's burning a way in now, trying to break out and save Lana once again, as Genevieve continued to strangle her with her strong grip.

As Genevieve's grip grew tighter, Lana could feel the beast persona that was Isobel gaining total control. I guess the old saying is true. "Sometimes when you cage the beast, the beast gets angry." Because Lana's goodness couldn;'t seem to hold back Isobel's aggressive nature.

Lana's eyes burned with a flourescent fure. It was at that moment Lana knew. Isobel was free!

Isobel couldn't believe that she was finally free again! Free to roam the earth and use the crystals of power to seek revenge on those who had wronged her. She had begun this plan to a small scale on two other occasions. On both occasions, she had been thwarted by that extraordinarily remarkable, yet meddlesome, individual named Clark Kent. She would deal with Clark later. But now she had to take care of the descendant of that meddlesome Duchess Gertrude, who had a hand on having her burned all those 400 years ago. Isobel wondered what the human Lana had done to incur her warth. But she would deal with that later. She was being choked to death.

As Isobel stared at Gertrude's descendant who she surmised to be named Genevieve, she couldn't help but notice the look of shock on Genevieve's face. Apparently, Genevieve didn't know what the Countess Isobel was made of. Now she would feel her fury firsthand. _She was such a privileged mortal_, thought Isobel.

Isobel then grabbed Genevieve's wrists and threw her on her back. Now Isobel lay on top of Genevieve. She had been inside Lana, dormant and had watched the battle between the mortal Lana and Genevieve. Genevieve had put up quite a fight for the crystal. Her ancestor, Gertrusde, was just the same way. It was no matter now. She would never get the crystal anyway. For the crystals of power were hers and hers only.

As Isobel sat on top of Genevieve, having subdued her, Isobel realized that she would now get her chance to exact revenge on the mortal family of the Duchess Gertrude. Part of her mission would be complete. Her next stage would be achievong all the crystals of power and ruling the world. She knew now that Genevieve Teague had to die. But she could find no suitable weapon to complete this task. She looked over beside Genevieve's body, and saw the Crystal of the element air. It had a sharp point and could suffice as a weapon to complete the task that she had traveled so far to accomplish.

Isobel used her witch-like power to grab the crystal. She held it to the sky, and smiled at Genevieve. Genevieve had a look on her face of absolute dread, as she knew what was coming. Isobel then placed the sharp edge of the crystal into her Genevieve's heart. Genevieve Teague would not survive this. She was after all, a mere mortal.

As Isobel continued to do this, a look of absolute dread and shock pepetrated her face, as Isobel could feel the crystal draining the life out of Genevieve's body. Isobel smiled, as the first part of her mission was complete.

As the crystal embedded itself further into Genevieve's heart, Isobel could feel power, slowly creeping from the stone's edge to her hands, flowing into her body. Then, suddenly, the crystal's power transferred an onsaliught of energy, power! She could feel it. It was as she was being charged like what Lana would call a "battery." Something like that. She din;t understand 21st century mortal temrinolfy really. All she knew was that it felt good With this kind of power in her body, there was no telling what she would do.

But as the power flowed thorugh her body, Isobel could feel the power siphoning her away. The crystal was not only killing Genevieve, but it was killing Isobel. NO! She would not let the fire of Isobel die out like this. But it mattered not. She had completed her mission. Genevieve Teague was murdered, and her revenge was complete.

She no longer cared for anything else. And with that thought, the spirit of Countess Isobel Thoreaux died.

Lana woke up. She had no idea what had happened in the last two minutes. Isobel must've taken control of her body again. But as she woke up, she felt a branding on her lower back, where the mysterious tattoo was. She reached behind her back and felt the tattoo was no longer there. Finally, the Isobel crisis was now a thing of the past. She could now just forget that it ever even happened. She then looked down at Genevieve and saw her eyes close. Lana feared the worst, as she looked down on her hands.

They were drenched in blood. _No,_ thought Lana, _I couldn't have done it. It wasn't possible!_ Genevieve Teague was dead. She didn't remember anything. What had Isobel done?

She couldn;t believe it. If anybody knew, she could possibly end up in prison, just after her graduation. Lana began to shake and tremble after learning of the deed she had just done. Genevieve's blood was on her hands. She also saw the crystal embedded in Genevieve's heart. She had done the deed right too. But she still wouldn't believe it. Then she looked up and saw something dreadful.

It was a man. It was Lex Luthor. Lex now knew that she had killed somebody. What was she to do now?

"Lana?"

Lex couldn't believe that Lana was standing over Genevieve Teague's dead body. Lex had just witnessed the murder of her son, Jason Teague, by his father. After his dad killed Jason, he rushed over to the place he thought Lana would most likely be: the Talon. He had hoped that Genevieve hadn't killed Lana and gotten the crystal. But apparently, Lana had killed Genevieve. Why would Lana kill Genevieve? Now both Teagues, Genevieve and Jason, were dead. Lex figured it was just as well. Now Lex was able to find those other crystals without the interference of the Teagues. But there was still the interference of his father. But he would deal with that later. He had to get Lana to safety.

Lex could see that Lana was in shock. It was like she hadn't done the killing. Lana looked as if she was shocked that she had done it. Lex had read that many people after they kill people, they go into utter shock. One classic example was in Macbeth when Lady Macbeth killed Duncan, she went into so much shock that she couldn't stop seeing the blood. But Lana wasn't a murderer. She was normally a strong, sweet-hearted woman. She would never murder anyone, at least not to his knowledge.

As Lex stood there, he watched Lana remove the weapon that had been used to kill Genevieve from Genevieve's heart. From a peripheral view, he saw that the weapon was one of the crystals! Lana had had one of the crystals the whole time. Lex could not believe it, but Lex instantly decided that he would not take the crystal from Lan. He cared about her and his friendship with her too much to resort to stealing a little crystal. Even if one of the crystals did contain a key of knowledge greater than the library of Alexandria.

Lex watched Lana put the crystal and wrapped it around a red handkerchief, red as the blood that almost drenched the crystal. Then she placed it in her purse. Then Lana walked up to face Lex.

"Lex, I - -"

"Lana, I understand Genevieve Teague almost tried to kill you. She almost tried to kill me and my dad. I understand yopu had to defend yourself. Now, let's get out of here, okay? I'll have some of my people cleaning up this mess in here. We'll pretend it never happenedn okay? We can go to my mansion and get you cleaned up. Okay?"

Lana nodded stiffly, as she was still in shock. Then, Lex gently moved Lana to the door, and Lana walked quickly out of her apartment in the Talon. But, Lex, however, couldn't stop looking at the body of Genevieve Teague. That body may be the leverage that Lex needed to try and get Lana to give him that crystal in her posession. He wouldn't resort to stealing, but a little friendly shove never hurt anybody.

Lex just smiled and walked down the stairs of the Talon with Lana.


	3. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

It was a quiet night at the Kent farm. All was quiet, which was pretty unusuual, considering that the Kent farm was in the town of Smallville, Kansas where nothing was normal or as it seemed. The Kent farm had been quite a buzz the past few yars, especially once that crazy symboln had been burned into the face of the Kent barn, and when the symbol was burned into the field of the Kent farm. It had been a crazy year in Smallville.

But for now it was quiet. Jonathan and Martha Kent slept soundly upstairs in their room. The visitor from Metropolis, Lois Lane, was also asleep upstairs. All this was going on while the Kents' 18-year-old son, Clark, slept soundly on the living room couch. Clark had been sleeping very soundly this night. The fact that he was able to was a miracle in itself. A lot had happened this year in Smallville, and it all had to do with Clark.

Clark Kent was not an ordinary young man. Some would say he was very "special." To Clark, that would be a matter of opinion. Clark Kent was actually a strange visitor from another planet. He was in fact Kal-El of Krypton. This fact had separated him friom his family and close friends. This fact explained a lot about Clark. He had abilities far beyong those of mort al men. He could run faster than anybody, was stronger than anybody, could see through things, was invulnerable, could shoot fire from his eyes, and could hear thing better than any hound dog. This fact had embarked him on a crusade to find the three crystals which were from his home planet. The spirit of his biological father, Jor-El, had told him that these stones contained the knowledge of the universe, and most importantly, the knowledge of his home planet, Krypton. But Clark didn;t worry about it so much, after all Krypton was destroyed. Jor-El told him that if the crystals were found by humans first, it would lead to the world's destruction. So that gave him a little incentive to find the crystals. But he wasn't worried about it. Right now, he'd rather dream of Lana.

He was trying to dream of Lana when suddenly he heard something! Imeediately, he stumbled out of his sleep and awakened. He could;ve sworn he hard a voice saying, _"It's coming, Kal-El."_ It sounded like the voice of his biological father, Jor-El of Krypton. What was coming? Was there anything he could do to stop it? He immediately rose up and looked about to see what exactly _was_ coming. He was not only awakened by the voice but also by a series of colored light. Then, as he looked around, he saw the television set flcker on, and produce nothing but static. He also looked to see the alarm on his dad's grandftaher clock go off. The hands on the clock were moving all over the face of the clock. What was making these clocks go off? Clark wondered. He also saw all the lights in the house flicker. Then, a fire started in the fireplace. What the heck wasa going on? Was this some sort of warning from Jor-El?

Clark then turned to see the radio go off, and he heard nothing but static. Even with his super-hearing, all he could hear was static from the radio. All this electric jumble was beginning to scare Clark a little bit. And after all he had been thorugh the past four years, not much scared him anymore. As he was trying to piece what was going on in his head, he saw his dog, Shelby, move toward the front door, and stand on top of it, clawing at ti, and whining.

Obviously, his dog, Shelby, could sense what was going on, and could sense that it was not normal, especially for Smallville.

Clark arose from the couch and started to walk to the front door, still trying to piece together what was going on. In his head, he could hear the voice again.

_"It's coming, Kal-El. It's coming."_

What was coming? he asked himself. What was going on with the electricity in the house and why was Shelby acting weird. Maybe if he went outsuide and could see where all the colored lights were conming from, he'd get his answers. He looked ourside and saw many colored lights such as red, blue, and yellow. He didn't know to make of it. So, he pushed Shelby aside and opened the door. Clark didn't get any answers, but he got something.

As he opened the door, a huge white light engulfed him and Shelby and seemed to engulf the whole Kent farm. This light was grander and lighter than anything he'd ever seen before. It almost defied description. Clark couldn't see anything beyond the light, but there had to be some darkness at the end of the light. It was 1:46 AM, though the way the clocks were working or weren;t working right now, he wouldn't have been able to say what time it was. So, Clark just walked through the light to see what it was.

_"It's coming."_

That voice kept saying that. WHAT WAS COMING? Maybe he'd find the answers at the other side of the light.

Then, in a flash, Clark Kent was outside his house. He was surrounded by yellow, blue, and red light. He looked upward to the sky and saw what looked like . . . oh, what was it called? Northern Lights? Chloe had told him what their official name was. Oh yeah, Aurora Borealis. It looked like one of those. It seemed to be traveling through the sky just a piece of light.

He wondered what this strange light in the sky was supposed to mean. Was it a warning of some kind? Was something deadly coming towards Smallville? If so, what was it? As Clark looked upward, he heard Shelby barking nonstop at the light. He wondered why Shelby was abrking at it. Apparently, he sensed something wrong with the light, as well.

As Clark continued to look upward, he saw the light forming three different colored streaks of light: red, yellow, and blue, start to coalesce together. At that moment, Shelby ran inside the house, as if retreating from something. What was Shelby running from? It was just a light.

_"It's coming."_

Then, Clark began to look up again and saw the streaks start to coalsesce and again and form a triangular shape, similar to the triangular shape that was a symbol from his homeplanet. Then the shape condensed itself into an orb of light. Then, the orb of light released a wave of destructive force! Then, Clark was consumed by it!

Then, Clark immediately woke up! He was relieved to see that he was still sleeping on the couch, and that nothing strang was happening. It had almost seemed too good to be true. This, after all was Smallville. He also noticed that he was drenched in his own sweat. It must have been only a nightmare. A truly intense one, at that. Then, soon after he woke up, his parents, Jonathan and Martha Kent, rushed to his side.

"Clark! Clark! It's okay! It was just a bad dream." confirmed his mother.

"You scared the daylights out of us, yelling like that." said his father.

Clark was barely getting his bearings after waking up from that horrible nightmare. Clark didn't know what was going on. He was glad that everybody was allright, especially his dog, whom he saw clutched under his mother's arm. But apparently he had been yelling all night. But he wondered what had he been yelling?

"What?" Clark groggily asked.

"You kept screaming 'it's coming' over and over."

_It's coming._ That's what the voice inside Clark's head kept saying to him. He thought it was Jor-El's voice. But maybe it was himself speaking what he faered, only amplified in his thoughts. It scared Clark and confirmed what he had feared and dreaded - - that something was coming for Smallville. If something was coming for Smallville, what was it?

Space. It is a big place. It was also very peaceful place at this moment in time. Space was home to billions upon billions of stars and millions of planets. But there were rubble of destroyed planets. Planets such as Krypton, Argo, and the like. But there were many planets that still continued on. Planets such as Mars, Apokolips, Jupiter, and most importantly, Earth.

But space was also home to space trash such as metes, asteroids, and such. One such meteor was floating through space. Then, in an instant, the meteor burst into many pieces, small meteorites. Then these meteorites, as if on command, started on a course, and began making their way towards a small moon and its neighboring planet.

That planet was Earth.


	4. Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

Clark Kent sat with his parents, Jonathan and Martha Kent, at 2:30 in the morning, all taken abacvk by Clark's nightmare. They had poured Clark a cup of milk in the hopes that it would take his mind off the dream. It wasn't working. He thought that they would know this by now. Ever since Clark found out by the billionaire scientist Virgil Swann that he was actually a strange visitor from the planet Krypton, these strange things had been kind of a normal thing. Not to mention that Clark did live in Smallville, KS, kind of attracted these kinds of things. Clark had witnessed these things first hand.

Clark had ony taken one, maybe two sips from his milk that his parents had poured for him. He was just staring out into space, thinking about the nightmare. It seemed that with every minute that passed, the dream seemed to fade so he tried to hold onto it as long as he could.

His parents obviously noticed this, because they shouted, "CLARK!"

He still stared out into space, trying to piece it all together. "I can't help but feel this is some kind of warning."

Martha just shrugged off that comment. "Now, Clark, it was nothing more than a bad dream."

"You used to have nightmares all the time when you were little, remember?"Jonathan then chimed in, as if in agreement.

Clark shook his head. "This time's different. It felt _so _real. And if it is a warning, I need to do something."

"No. What you need to do is get some shut-eye so you're not half-asleep tomorrow when they hand you that diploma," interrupted Jonathan.

"Your dad's right. Don't let a little nightmare spoil your high school graduation."

Clark had almost forgotten all about graduation. That _was_ tomorrow, wasn't it? Soon, he would be graduating from Smallville High. It all happened so fast when he entered high schoiol with Chloe and Lana, and everything. It was truly a commencement day for him.

"A nightmare? So that's what this commotion is about," called a voice from behind.

Both Clark and his parents tunred around to see who it was. They shouldn'e have been surprised when they saw a 19-year-old girl right behind them. It was Lois Lane.

Lois Lane was a young city-girl who was just staying in Smallville to be with her cousin Chloe Sullivan, who was one of Clark's triuest friends. Something Lois was not. Clark did like Lois, but he didn't really have a bond with her as he did with Chloe or Lana.

As Lois came down the stairs, she headed to the refrigerator, obviously to get a drink as they were doing. Then, Lois leaned in to talk to Clark

"Clark, if it makes you feel any better, I have nightmares all the time."

Then she leaned back. Clark should've known that Lois would make one of her outgoing remarks. That was just who Lois Lane was.

"In fact, Smallville, I had this one last week. It was really scary. It was about this guy in a red cape."

Clark wasn't overall comforted by this. In fact, it didn't comfort him at all. It didn't make his ordeal any better. A dream about a guy in a red cape didn't even compare with Clark's nightmare. It just seemed to him like a girl fantasy dream. After all, what did Clark Kent care about a guy in a red cape anyway? But he decided to just to let it go with a sarcastic remark.

"Oh, that sounds horrible, Lois."

But, Clark could tell from the look on Lois' face that she didn't particularly care for his sarcastic remark. But, Clark didn't really particularly care about Lois.

"Well, there's something I wsnted to tell you guys, so I guess two in the morning is good a time as any."

"What is it, Lois?" asked Martha.

"Oh, the general's recruited me for a recon mission to locate my sister, Lucy. So we're headed for Heidelburg tomorrow."

Martha expressed her sadness. "Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that, Lois."

Clark remembered trying to help Lois help her sister Lucy earlier in the year. Now Lucy apparently was on the run again. But this tim Lois was going to Europe to locate her. Last time Clark checked, Europe was as far from Smallville as Krypton was from Earth. He just stared at Lois and tried to cover his delight, as Lois would finally be out of his hair.

Lois must've saw Clark's delight, because she just sighed, smiled at Clark, and said, "Clark, I know how devastated you must be but if you could just keep your tears to a minimum, I'd appreciate it."

Clark just smiled giddily and replied, "I'll try, Lois."

"Thanks," Lois said, and then turned to Clark's parents. "Mr. and Mrs. Kent, I just wanted to thanks for everything. You guys are like the mom and dad I've always wanted to have."

Clark's parents smiled at Lois, as if humbled by the comment. Then, Jonathan put his arm over Lois. "Lois, I just want you to know that you are welcome back here anytime."

"Well, actually - -," Clark interjected, not quite ready to let Lois come back so easily as she had fallen out of his hair.

"We'll all miss you, Lois," interjected Martha, giving Clark a nasty stare.

Clark just nodded and smiled at Lois. Lois just smiled right back at him, that little snarky smile he had come to despise ever since Lois walked into Smallville earlier this year. Then, Lois gave a sincere smile, and said, "I'll miss you all, too."

Then, Shelby the Kents' dog jumped up at Lois, as if to say that he would miss her, as well, as if he knew of Lois' allergy to dogs, but loved her just the same. Then, Lois replied to Shelby. "No, I won't miss you, dog. No, not at all."

Clark couldn't help but laugh. In this moment with Lois and her farwell, he had almost forgotten about his nightmare the night before.

Almost.


	5. Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

Lex had taken Lana to his mansion and had her cleaned up. Lex had his butlers get a basin full of water so that Lana could wash her hands and had them bring the basin to his study.. This they did immediately as Lex and Lana went to the study inside the Luthor mansion. As soon as they got there, Lex directed Lana to the basin and Lana put down her purse and proceeded to wash her hands vigorously and furiously. Lex stood aside and let Lana wash her hands. But as Lana washed her hand, she was very much like Lady Macbeth when she had killed Duncan in the Shakespearean play, _Macbeth._

Then, Lana startted to talk again since the incident. Lex knew why Genevieve had attacked Lana. Earlier that day, both Genevieve and her sin Jason had kidnapped Lex and his father for knowledge of the location of the crystals that the Teagues seemed to be so obsessed about. Lex's dad told Geneveieve that Lana had had the crystal that he stole from the Genevieve and she wanted it back. She also wanted the crystal that Jason got from China. But Lex believed that he had lied to save his own skin and that he had put Lana's life in danger. He hated his father for that. Finally, Lana spoke, and it was frantic.

""S-she was c-coming out me s-so fast. I-I-I don't even remember stabbing her," said Lana frantically, as she tried to rub her hands clean of the bloodstain from Genevieve's body.

Lex then got a pitcher and started pouring more water into the basin, and knew he had try and calm Lana down for a few minutes. "Lana, I want you to take a deep breath and try to relax."

But it seems that Lana wouldn't relax nor let this go. "Lex, a woman is dead because of me! I killed her!"

Lex then pulled out a towel and continued to calm Lana down from the incident, as she was still shaking very violently still even though it had been several hours since the incident. Lex then directed Lana to sit on the couch in the Luthor mansion study where they were. "No,no, Lana. You had no choice. You did what anyone else would do if their life was at stake."

Lana was srtill shaking a little bit, but not as much as she was a few minutes ago. She started to breath slowly and relax a little but more. But Lex could tell that Lana was a still a little on edge from the murder. "I have to tell Jason. She was _his_ mother."

Lex just looked at Lana, unsure of that was a good idea, for Jason Teague was also dead. When the Teagues had kidnapped Lex and his dad, Lex and his dad escaped, and Jason tired to kill them., But Lex cornered Jason to a cliff's edge, and was about to kill him. Then, Jason informed Lex that Clark was more connected to the crystals than anybody in Smallville, more so than Lana. But before Jason could tell him more, Lex's father shot Jason. So, Jason was dead. So, all Lex could tell Lana was, "_I'll_ deal with Jason."

But Lana wasn't satisfied with Lex's answer, as she immediately resumed her hysterics and began walking out of the study room. "Lex, there's a DEAD BODY in my apartment! I - I have to go to the police, and tell them what happened!"

Then, Lex stood up and stopped her from doing so. "Lana, I'm not sure that's such a good idea."

Lana turned around and stopped dead in her tracks, wondering what Lex could possibly mean. "Genevieve Teague was a powerful woman," contineud Lex, "married to a extremely powerful lawyer. Even though it was clearly self-defense, Edward Teague is going to make sure that the jury sees otherwise."

Lex could see the look of perplexment on Lana's face. "Then what's going to happen to me? Am I going to go to prison?"

Lex only smiled at Lana and said, "No. I've retained one of the best defense attorneys in the country, and as soon as he arrives from New York, we'll go to the authorities."

Then, Lana sank deep into Lex's arms, in gratitude for what Lex was doing for her. Lex cared for Lana very much, and would do anything to help her. But he also knew that Lana had one of those crystals that the Teagues, and his father had sought. He wanted that, too. "Now, you have to trust me. Until the lawyer arrives, I want you to stay here and talk to no one."

As soon as Lex said that, Lana had a look of desperartion on her face, as if she had just remembered something immediately. "My purse. Where's my purse?"

She started to search frantically for it until she found it at the floor, where she obviously dropped it when she came in. She then proiceeded to open it very quickly, as if to see somethign was still there.

"Don't worry. It's still there," said Lex, as she looked at him with a look of distrust. "I'd never take it from you."

Then, suddenly, the door in the study room opened, and it was one of the Luthor mansion security people. He stood and went to Lex and whispered in his ear, "Mr. Luthor, we have a situation."

Lex just looked at Lana and only smiled. "Don't worry, Lana. It's going to be okay."

Lana just sat hereslf at the couch, after removing a small object covered by a red handkerchef, that Lex knew was the crystal. But he didn't get to see it again before he left.

Lex walked out of the Luthor mansion study room and followed his guard out into the hallway and stopped him. "What's the situation, guard?"

"It's the body, Mr. Luthor," said the guard.

"The body of Genevieve Teague?" asked Lex.

The guard then nodded, as if to confirm it.

"What about it?" asked Lex.

"It's gone, sir. Cleaned up and removed from the sight."

Lex couldn't believe this. _Who would take a body in the middle of the night?_ thought Lex. Besides, he needed that body. That body was his leverage to Lana so she could trust him to give him that crystal.

"I'm going to downtown Smallville to investigate. Keep an eye on Ms. Lang. Make sure she doesn't leave the mansion and taks to no one but me. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

The guard went down the hall to keep an eye on Lana, while Lex went the other way down the hall to get his Mercedes-Benz and take it to downtown Smallville to investigate what had happened to Genevieve's body. He had an inkling who might've taken it. But it was only an inkling.

Lana was left alone inside the Luthor mansion study room, holding the object in her purse that she feared might've been lost in the frantics of the murder. It was a crystal that Jason had obtained in China. She felt she was somehow connected to these ancient crystals. She didn't know how but she was connected to them somehow. She felt it in her bones. That was why she had stolen the crystal from Jason shortly after he got it.

She opened the handkerchief to reveal the triangular-shaped crystal that she had. The tip and most of the crystal was drenched in blood. She had not cleaned the blood, and she didn't know if she was going to. It was a reminder of the deadly sin that she had committed earlier that night. She was unsure if she was willing to let that go just yet.

She observed the crystal carefully. She saw the symbol on the front of the crystal. The cymbol was a triangular-shaped crest with what looked the number eight in the center. She stared at that symbol for a long while. Just looking at the symbol made her feel good. The way she felt when Clark was around.

_Clark,_ she thought. How would she explain this to him? How she needed Clark. She cared for Clark very much. But whether Clark card back was a mystery to her. He seemed to, but Clark had these other sides to him that made it difficult for her to know the _real _Clark Kent. He had so many secrets in his life. But she loved him just the same. Even when she was with Jason, those feelings for Clark were still there. She didn't know if Clark would still love her now that she had done this.

She continued to observe the crystal and noticed that it was not the only of its kind, but everyone knew that. Even she did. But the interlocking part of the crystal seemed to glow a white color. She touched the interlocking part to see what that glow was. She touched it and then - -

"LANA!"

Lana jumped out of her seat on the couch, startled by the flash that she just saw, dropped the crystal on the floor. She then moved over to pick it up. She was still jumping from that flash, and then picked up the crystal and covered it in the red handkerchief she had in her purse.

She still couldn't believe what she had just saw. She tried to piece together what she saw, as it happened so fast. _It was a person_ was the first thought that came to her. She felt the person she saw was the one whom these crystals were truly meant for. Lana's eyes widened. She began to tell herself that it was impossible. The person she saw was one she was very well-acquainted with. If the person she saw was meant to have the crystals, she had to give the crystals she had to the person she saw. But she just could not believe it.

The person she saw in that brief flash was her dear friend, Clark Kent.

Lex walked into Lana's apartment above the Talon, the hottest coffeeshop this side of Smallville. Lex normally didn't like coffeeshops, as they were not good for business. But Lex kept it running, as it was Lana's dream to revitalize the old Talon Theater-coffeeshop of the 50's. He liked Lana's enthusiasm for it, so he kept it, because he did care for Lana.

It was that care for Lana that drove him to the Talon now, as he received word from his security guard that the body of Genevieve Teague was missing. The disappearance of Genevieve Teague's body would ensure Lana's guilt before a jury. It was also his leverage to obtain Lana's crystal for himself.

He looked around Lana's apartment and saw the place was empty. No body, no nothing. Lex then leaned down where the body was. He felt where the blood shoud've been. The blood was gone. Whoever evacuated the body had cleaned the place . . . clean.

As Lex was investigating the crime scene, he heard a voice that made him shudder. It was a voice he recognized too, which made him cringe even more.

"I thought I'd do Miss Lang a favor and tidy up the place a bit. She left the place in quite a mess."

The figure in the dark who the voice belonged to was sitting on a couch in the middle of the room. He turned on a lamp to reveal who he was. He was a man in a black suit, with a white shirt, and purple tie. The man was elegantly dressed in the suit. He had a scruffy beard and bushy brown hair with some gray linings in between. Lex knew who the man was. It was his father, Lionel Luthor.

So his father had cleaned the body from Lana's apartment. Once again, Lex was pushed against his father.

"What are you looking for, dad? The Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval?"

Lex's dad seemed unaffected by Lex's snide question. "You know, Lex, for a woman without a heart, Genevieve Teague certainly had a lot of blood"

Lex was very angry with his dad for going behind his back on this. So he decided to get straight to the point on why his father was so generous to clean up Lana's apartment. His dad always had an ulterior motive for things. Always, and just when you think he had none, he always had something up his sleeve. "You didn't come here to do a postmortem on Genevieve Teague, dad. What is it you want?"

Lex's dad stopped his tirade for a minute, and crossed his hands, looking directly at Lex thoughtfully. "I'd like to offer a trade, Lex."

Lionel Luthor walked up to his son, Lex, to deal with him. Lex was very skeptiocal of this trade. Whatever it was, Lex had a very bad feeling about it. "Lana Lang's freedom for the artifact she has in her possession." proposed Lionel, and he smiled after he proposed the trade.

Lex knew his dad wanted those crystals just as badly as he did. But he wasn't about to let him have them. "Dad, don't you think your search for these three ancient crystals are starting to border on the fanatical?"

Lex's dad smiled and chuckled a bit at Lex's remark. "Is that what you think? Well, let me remind you, Lex. It was you who looted the ruins of Egypt to get your hands on one of those crystals. Who's more fanatical, you or me?" Lionel said, as he continued to tidy up, picking up an apple that obviously fell during the murder.

Lex turned around to face his father and firmly said, "Trust me. Lana Lang has nothing to do with this, despite what you think, dad."

Lionel smiled, and went up to Lex's face and said, "Oh, how chivalrous of you. You are the gallant hero trying to protect the damsel in distress but - - "

Lex interupted his dad's tirade and said, "Dad, I'm warning you. Leave her alone."

Lionel Luthor continued, as if not hearing Lex, "--but all your life you've had a tendency to let the damsel lead you straight into the mouth of the dragon. Your feelings for Miss Lang, don't let them cripple your common sense, son." Lionel smiled at his son, hoping he would see past his son's love for Lana Lang and do what was necessary to succeed. Lionel then turned to walk out the door, which was still open from when Lex entered. "Lex, I expect to see that crystal in my hands by noon tomorrow."

Lex was not too happy about his dad's proposal, and was not sure he wanted to agree with it. "Oh, Lex," his father said, "in case you're having second thoughts about my trade, just remember I have the evidence that points to Miss Lang's guilt. It would be a shame if the corpse of Genevieve Teague were delivered to the sheriff with Lana Lang's DNA as postage." Lionel chuckled as he left.

Lex would try to double-squeeze out of his father's trade, as best as he could. He would not give in to his father's demand. But, now he knew what bhe had to do. He would protect Lana from his father's maniacal treasure hunt, but he would see to it that he would get the crystal before his father ever could. He, after all, had Lana Lang in his mansion this very moment.

Lex smiled at himself. His father thought he had the upper hand, but it was really he, Lex Luthor, who was on top of things.


	6. Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

In the depths of space, clusters of meteors flew on a straight course, making its way to the planet Earth, as if the metoeirs were plotted on that straight, slipstream course.

Many meteors had fallen on a nearby moon that neighbored Earth. But a huge percentage of those meteors were propelling themselves towards Earth.

Meanwhile, in an STAR Labs solar observatory in Metropolis, a young tech named Joe Jurgens was just sitting, relazing, and reading Adbusters. Not much happened on his shift in the three months that he had been working at STAR LABS. So he wasn't too worried about anything big happening. So he just relazed and his desk. Then, he heard a BEEP!

On his computer radar screen, he saw an unbelievable sight. It looked like a cluster of unidentified space debris. He thought that was strange because he had looked at his screen not five minutes ago, and there was nothing there. Now there was a whole cluster of activity. He immediately began to panic.

"Dr. Loeb, sir?" Joe called out.

Dr. Jeph Loeb was a respected scientist at STAR Labs, and was commissioned to the solar observatory after Dr. Virgil Swann left, and went into personal exile after he was paralyzed in a car accident. Dr. Loeb had not seen any abnormal activity since Dr. Swann claimed to have seen a clister of space debris sixteen years ago. It was as if the phenomenon had just . . . died.

Then, Dr. Loeb got a call from one of the techs that worked in the solar observatory. So he went to see what the disturbance was about.

"Sir, you better check the screen, here. Look. I've never seen anything like this," replied Joe.

So, Loeb went over to check out the screen, not expecting to find anything really. It was probably just some prank by local kids. But as soon as Dr. Loeb looked at the screen, his eyes widened. It was unbelievable. He had never seen anything like it. It was almost the same thing that Swann had described sixteen years ago. Immediately, Loeb asked the tech, "How long has there been activity, Jurgens?"

"There was nothing there five minutes ago. It just . . . came out of nowhere," asked Jurgens. Jurgens thought it was nothing, but then he saw the look on Loeb's face. It was a look of shock. "Sir? What's going on?"

Loeb just couldn't believe it. When Swann said he saw a cluster of space debris in '89, he thought, like everybody else, that Swann had just gone nuts and decided to follow little green men. But now Loeb knew that Swann must've been telling the truth the whole time. "Sir?"

The tech's question brought him back to reality. "Jurgens, I want you to get on the horn with the military services in all surrounding areas. Got that?"

Jurgens nodded and called all military personnel in areas such as New York City, Edge City, Coast City, Keystone City, and Gotham. Loeb saw him call those military personnel for those cities. Then Loeb intejected. "Jurgens! Call Metropolis Military Services and have them go to Smallville, Kansas."

Jurgens just gave Loeb a perplexed look. "Sir? Smallville is the smallest town this side of the US. Why do you want the City of Tomorrow's top military service to go there? What's going on?"

Loeb told Jurgens. "Jurgens, that cluster of space debris is a meteor shower headed for Earth. Now, sixteen years ago, Virgil Swann tracked a similar meteor shower in '89 and tracked it to Smallville, Kansas. Everyone, including myself, thought he was crazy. But the meteor shower hit Smallville just as he predicted. So, I figure lightning is due to strike again. So just get on the horn with MMS. 'Kay, Jurgens?"

Jurgens nodded and made the call to MMS, and said a prayer in his heart for all the people in Smallville, Kansas, who would be devastated by this cosmic disaster. Surely, something huge was about to commence in Smallville . . .


	7. Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX

At the Kent barn, Clark was in his barn loft, still very disturbed about the dream he had had the night before. He was still racking his brain trying to figure out what the heck it meant. I mean the electricity going haywure, all of it, the voice of Jor-El. What did it all mean? Was it Jor-El trying to get Clark to do what he wanted? Was it some kind of warning? WHAT DID IT ALL MEAN?

"GRRRRR!" growled Clark. The dream was frustrating Clark so much that he couldn't even get his tie on straight. It was his graduastion day, the day he had been waiting for for the past four years, and hr couldn;'t even get his tie on straight. Why? because of a silly dream that probably didn't mean anything.

"Look, Smallville, you don't have to growl like a bear," called a familiar loud voice, "But even I can tell you that hand-eye coordinartion isn't one of yor strong suits."

Clark nearly turned and saw that it was Lois. Clark growled under his breath. He so did not want to have to deal with Lois Lane, now of all times. But it seemd that she was going to help him anyway, because she grabbed the toie out of Clark's hands and started tying it herslef! "Here," she isnsited, rather annoyingly, "Let me help you with that."

Clark just smiled at her, while trying to get his belt on, and said rather sarcastically, "Lois, I am really not sure what I'm going to do without you."

Lois just shrugged and replied, "Oh, c'mon, Clark, your future's laid out right out in front of you. You're going to go to Kansas Community College, major in agriculrure, probably minor in law enforcement knowing you with your hero complex and all, and then you and Lana are going to have a nice little church wedding."

As Clark was finishing up his belt, he was caught off guard with Lois's comment. He wasn't even sure he knew about his feelings for Lana. "Excuse me?"

Lois just smiled at Clark, knowing he had caught him off-guard and said, while finisnhg up his tie, "It's written in the stars and you know it. It's only a mater of time before you join the bowling league, take over the family farm, and then . . well, you and Lana can being little 'Clark jr.' into the world."

As Clark bucked his nbelt, he tried to play it cool, by saying, "Lois, I think you're hallucinating."

Lois physically turned Clark around and put his tie on his neck and said "No. Hallucinating would be imagining Clark Kent going off to the big city of Metropolis,IL to make his mark in the world. I'm just being realistic."

Clark noticed that his tie was a little tight around his neck and just smiled and lauighed at Lois' tie-tying techniques, to which Lois only smiled and laughed back. "Well, Lois, what about your future? After Europe, of course. Are you going to go back to school? Maybe actually stay a little while?"

Clark walked over to another part of his loft, wher he cointinued to finish tying his tie. Lois only folllowed to continue the converstaion, which she wasn't about to give up. Especially with a smalltime weasel like Clark Kent.

"I figured that if I'm going to get an education, it's going to be in the real world," Lois replied as she sat on the couch in Clark's loft, "Y'know, when I was in the one and only barbershop in this hick town, I took this career test in this magazine, and it said, that my perfect job would be a - - "

Clark waited as he tied his tie to find out what that perfect job would be.

"-- radio disc jockey." Lois seemed to beam with a lovely smiled as that was something she had wanted to do.

Clark simply smiled and replied as he buttoned the left button on his shirt collar, "Well, that makes sense. You talk enough, so there won't be any dead air."

Lois just scowled at Clark for knocking off her dreams. Clark only smiled back, in pride, as if he was prpoud of his smart-alleck comment to Lois.

"You mock me now, Smallville, but you just wait and see." Lois said.

"Journalism," said Clark, as he finished the last button.

"Excuse me?"

"Journalism. i think it'd be a good career for you. Did you ever think about it? I mean, you wrote some half-decent articles in your short-lived career at the Torch."

Lois just shook her head, as if ascoffing at the idea. "No! Kill me first! Even if I could spell, the last thing I'd want to do is spend my time in a newsroom. I mean . . . Probably, with my luck, i'd end up across the desk with the most shy, mild-mannered, bumbling reporter on the masthead. Forget it, Kent. Journalism is my cousin's calling. Not mine."

Clark just shrugged his shoulders, and said, "Well, it was just an idea."

Thebn, clark stood tall and proud, as he had finally finished his tie. He was ready for graduation.

Lois looked at him uip and down, and smiled. "You know what? You actually look handsome for a change."

"Well, I'll take that as a compliment."

Lois got off the couch and stood up and started to straighten Clark's tie. "Look, I know we've had our disagreements in the past, and I will be the first to admit that I have made it my own personal hobby to bust your chops."

Clark nodded. "I've gotten used to it. Besides, I know I haven't been the most gracious host."

Lois just looked and smiled. "I just want you to know, Clark, that when I'm sitting in the audience today at your graduation and you stand up on that stage in front of all those people . . . I'm going to be looking up at you and thinking only one thing."

Clark looked nervously at Lois. "What's that?"

Lois just smiled at Clark, and said, "Please, don't let him trip."

Then, as Lois walked out, she slugged Clark in the shoulder and walked down the stairs of Clark's upper barnloft.

Clark walked to the banister and watched Lois leave. Lois saw Clark watching her from afar and said to him, "See ya around, Smallville."

Clark just smiled, and said, "See ya around, Lois Lane."

Clark stared at Lois and realized that Smallville would not be the same without Lois Lane. You know, Clark Kent would almost actually miss Lois Lane.

Almost.

As Lois headed to the Kent truck, as she would be accompanying them to Clark's gradiation, Clark looked down on his watch, and realized that he was going to be late to his graduation. So, in the blink of an eye, Clark ran!1

Clark immediately changed into his Smallville High graduation robes as graduation was commencing. This graduation was probably the biggest event in Clark's life. As he arrived at the yard in front of Smallville High, he saw a 5'7' blonde high school senior. It was Chloe Sullivan, his best friend.

"Hey Clark, 'bout time you got here. Take a shortcut?"

"Yeah."

Chloe smiled. "Cool."

"Where's Lana?"

Chloe just shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't seen her yet. SHe's probably just nervous. I know I am."

Clark looked to the distance and nodded. "Yeah, I'm nervous too, Chloe."

Clark was nervous. He had hoped whatever Jor-El was warning him about in his dream didn't come to pass on his graduation day. He hoped nothing would ruin this day for him.

It was now graduation time. Clark and Chloe had been put in their separate gender lines. The graduation song was playing. Clark didn;t know what it was. But it was playing. It had been an hour and a half and Clark hadn't seen Lana yet. It was starting to worry him a little bit. Clark looked over at Chloe, and he could tell she was worried, too.

Principal Reynolds began calling names, from the list. "CAROLINE DRIES!" Applause followed as each name was called and each graduate stood up and accepted their diploma.

Clark looked over at Chloe, and asked the question that seemed to be on both of their minds. "Have you seen Lana yet?"

Chloe shook her head. "Still no sign. I'm starting to get worried, Clark. Lana's never even had a tardy. She's not going to miss her high school graduation."

Clark just looked at Chloe firmly and said confidently, "She'll be here."

Then, Clark and Chloe separated into their different lines where they would receive their high school diplomas. As Clark moved closer, he couldn't help but notice that the banners all over the graduation ceremony read, "SMALLVILLE HIGH SCHOOL COMMENCEMENT." Truly, this day was a commencement for all the seniors this year. But this year, for Clark, had been a commencement in of itself: with the hunt for those crystals always on his mind, the death of Dr. Swann, Lois coming to Smallville, Chloe's almost death. It had been a stressful yeart. He hoped nothing else stressful would come to pile on him.

"HOLLY HAROLD!"

Clark gave a small applaud for Holly. She took over for Chloe at the Torch during her "death". Clark had been very impressed with what she bbrought to the Torch. Holly had told Clark that she wanted to be a hollywood screenwriter. Clark hoped Holly would do it. Holly Harold had accepted her diploma. It seemed as if they waited forever for Clark.

"TANYA HARTE!" Clark gave a mini-applause for Tanya. Tanya was one of the cheerleaders for the Smallville High Football Team. Everyone told Clark that Tanya had a crush on her. But Clark had always only had eyes for Lana. Lana was the girl he had loved since grade school. He looked around and still saw no sign of Lana.

"KATE HORTON!" Clark looked over at Chloe as Katie accepted her diploma. They saw the looks of nervousness in both of their eyes. They still wondered where Lana was. Chloe had a look of worry and nervousness combined. Clark tried not to let his worriness show.

"HANNAH JACOBS!" As Hannah accepted her diploma, Clark walked up the steps onto the stage where he would accept his diploma. As he walked up the stairs, his nervousness went up with him.

"CLARK KENT!" Clark walked further up the stairs. Clark also turned to look at the audience. He saw both his parents stand up with a standing ovation, with Lois, of all people. His dad took a picture with his old camera, and his mom stood up and clapped and cheered, while Lois put her two fingeres to her mouth and whistled. Clark smiled and went over to Asst. Principal Ellsworth and accepted his diploma. He had finally got it. He held it high for everyone to see, smiling, and shook Principal Reynolds.

Principal Reynolds shook Clark's hand and smiled. "Congratulations, Mr. Kent. Now go out into the world and make something of yourself. Never ignore your destiny."

Clark just smiled. "Thank you, sir."

After Clark got his diploma, he turned and looked around and couldn't believe he had finally graduated. As he stood in amazement, Principal Reynolds called another name. "LANA LANG!"

Clark stopped dead in his feet, and looked to see if Lana had shown up. He had dreamed of the day where he would be graduating and Lana would be in her graduating gown right after him. He had dreamed of it for as long as he could remember. But Lana wasn;t here. He l;ooked around to see if Lana was comign out of the parking lot. Out of the park itself. But she wasn't.

Lana was missing.


	8. Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

"LANA LANG!"

Clark looked over at Chloe, and Chloe just had a look of worry and puzzlement. It was the same look Clark had on his face. He had hoped Lana would appear but she hadn't. She was gone. Clark had no idea where she was. Clark knew one thing, though. He had to find her quickly. As Clark was about to do so, he heard a siren.

The siren had alarmed everybody. Because everybody started to buzz around, wondering what was going on. Chloe turned her head. She stared as everyone did at the many military vans that had now entered the graduation ceremony.

From these military vans, men dressed in camouflage colored uniforms started to pouring out, as if prepared for anything. On these military vans were labeled **MMS.**

A voice called out from the lead military vans' loudspeaker. _"Attention. Remain calm. By order of the Federal Emergency Decree, all nonessential personnel must evacuate the area within a 50-mile radius. In approximately, a meteor shower is oredicted to hit Smallville, KS."_

Clark couldn't believe what he was hearing. A meteor shower? Clark remembered the last meteor shower. It had nearly devastated the small town of Smallville. It had brought with it meteor rocks that Clark had learned was called Kryptonite. The meteor shower also brought with it anoither thing - - a spaceship containing an infant baby. Clark, himself. Was this what Jor-El had warned him against? Clark just had a look of grim determination, determined to stop it if he could, But first he had to try and find and save Lana.

Chloe just looked at Clark with a look of panic. But Clark couldn;t help but feel it was his fault. After all, it was his ship that had caused the fiurst meteor shower. Now what had caused this one? He knew that whatever it was, it was somehow linked to him and Jor-El. Clark then got off the stage and took his graduation robes and cap off and slung them to his side. Even though there was a meteor shower, he wasn;t going to leasve his graduation robes.

As he did so, Chloe called out to him. "HEY CLARK! Can you believe it! Twice in sixteen years! I mean, this is crazy! Smallville has got to have some sort of extraterrestrial bullseye on it!"

Clark tried to smile, but he couldn't. He knew that Chloe had an enthusiasm when it came to the meteor shower. But Clark wasn't about to fuel that desire just yet. He tried to play it cool and normal. "It's pretty weird, huh?"

"Well," Chloe continued, as she took off her graduation cap, "there's got to some kind of connection in the cosmos. I mean, this IS NOT just a coincidence."

Clark tried to calm Chloe down. "Yeah . . I . . . uh . . . I'm sure there's some sort of explanation."

But Chloe wasn't calming down. She was only getting more passionate by the minute. "Well, there's just something in Smallville that is just SCREAMING for celestial attention! I mean, Clark, lightning does not strike in the same place without some kind of lightning rod, right! I just wonder what that is. "

This whole conversation was beginning to make Clark very nervous, especially around Chloe. If Chloe knew the truth . . . well, he didn't even want to think about that. "I'm not sure," said Clark very nervously, and then tried to change the subject. "But we don't have much time. We need to find Lana."

Chloe dropped the subject, and nodded, as if in agreement. "You're right, and if anyone can find her with moments to spare, it's you, Clark."

Chloe then rushed Clark away from the hustle and bustle. He didn't understand what Chloe was saying. She proibably suspected something. "Uh . . . why's that, Chloe?" he asked rather innocently.

Chloe, as she continued to rush Clark, then explained her reasoning. "Because . . . you have a certain . . . 'method' of getting things done in half the time the nornal person gets things done."

Chloe's talk was confusing. What was she talking about? It was almost as if she knew the truth about him, about his secret. But how could she? "And I'm NOT normal?"

Chloe just smiled and said, "NO! Of course you're normal! You're as normal as they come! Now! Let's . . . just hurry and find Lana!"

Lois then walked up to Chloe and Clark, having overheard their conversation. "Look, I'm sure she's already out of town. They've already evacuated half of the county. They probably saw her come in early for graduation and told her to leave town."

"Which is exactly what you two need to do right now," said Clark, as he, Lois, and Chloe then headed to Chloe's car, her Red convertible VW beetle. Clark then put his cap and gown in the back of Chloe's car. "I'm going to hitch a ride with my parents in their truck. Do you mind if I leave my graduation stuff in your car, Chloe?"

"Sure." replied Chloe.

Lois then interjected. "Thanks for the tip, Smallville, but I was raised by a four-star military general. I am not about to run from a time of crisis like a scared little girl in the middle of a fire! Okay! Why don't you just trust me on this?"

Clark just stared at Lois and then back at Chloe, and then back at Lois again, and then back at Chloe, as if pleading for help on this one. Lois must've noticed because she practically screamed at Clark. "What? What is it?"

Chloe then quietly interjected. "Uh, Lois?"

"WHAT!"

"I think you better trust Clark on this one."

Lois just pouted and looked at Clark and Chloe, and just said, "FINE! I'll just . . . ride with Chloe and head to her house and pack as much stuff as we could take."

Clark nodded, as Lois got into the passenger seat of Chloe's car, and Chloe got in the drivers seat. Clark just stared at Chloe, and said. "Chloe, be careful."

Chloe then nodded and drove away, leaving Clark in the distance.

As soon as Clark saw that Chloe and Lois were out-of-sight, he then jetted away, speeding all across Smallville to find the love of his life, Lana.

After running all around town, Clark finally arrived at his house. He couldn't believe that he couldn't find Lana. She had to be somewhere. He hoped an early meteor hadn't hit somewhere in Smallville, and Lana hadn't died at the mercy of a meteor.

No, thought Clark, he couldn't live with that if that was to happen. But he needed to talk to his parents.

He walked in the door of his house, not to find his parents, just sitting for a cup of coffee like they always were, but madly packing everything in sight. His dad rushed down the stairs. "CLARK! Where in heaven have you been? We've got to pack up!"

Clark walked into his house and stood by the kitchen table, agonizing over the current situation. "I've been looking for Lana everywhere. I can't find her."

As his mom was furiously packing, she tried to be the voice of reason in the situation. "Sweetheart, she's probably been evacuated already."

As his dad continued to pack, He told Clark. "Now, we need to pack everything from your room and from the loft that's necessary. Your mother and I will take care of everything down here."

But Clark just stood t\here, as if thinking and pondering something he needed to do. "No. I've got to do something first."

Then, immediately, Jonathan and Martha Kent stopped what they were doing. They knew what Clark was feeling. Ever since Clark learned he was from the stars, he had told them he believed the meteor shower was his fault. "Don't think for a second that this is YOUR fault."

Clark then stood up to his parents. "Look at the facts, mom. I came to Smallville sixteen years ago in a meteor shower. Now another meteor sjhower is happening all over again, and it's all because of me."

Jonathan then stood before Clark, to try and calm him down. "Clark, there was nothing you could have done to prevent that meteor shoiwer, and there is nothing you can do to prevent this one."

Clark couldn't accept that. "No. We don't know that. There's got to be something that I can do to stop it."

Martha just stood grabbed Clark's arms and shook her head in disbelief. "Clark . . . you don't have time."

Clark just stared into her eyes and said, "No, mom, I don't have a choice."

Jonathan and Martha Kent stepped away and nodded, as if in approval. Clark went upstairs to do what he had to do. First, he would change his clothes. Then, he would find Jor-El.

After changing his clothes, he headed to his upper barn loft. His father had called this place, the Fortress of Solitude. It was where he spent hours studying things about his life, his interests, and his past. Clark moved over to his desk. On his desk, next to old high school textbooks, Native American literature, there were two lead cases. One Clark dared not open. It contained an extremely rare substance: a green Kryptonite fragment from the planet where he came from. That substance made Clark weak and if Clark was exposed to it's energy, he could die. He kept it in case he was exposed to the red meteor rock which had a strong mental effect on him, which he never kept. The lead case kept the meteor rock from killing Clark.

The other lead case had an extrememly rare and possibly valuable object. It was this case that Clark was looking for. He opened it. In the lead case was full of old stuff, pencils, erasers, and a ruler. But in the corner of the case was a small disc-like object covered in a small cloth. Clark unveiled the cloth to reveal a small octagon-shaped disc. It was a metallic silver disc, which had on the edges symbols from Clark's planet. Clark had dubbed this octagonal disc, "the key." Because that what it was. It seemed to be the key to unlocking everything about Clark. There was an octagonal keyhole in Clark's spaceship which had long since been destroyed. There was an octagonal keyhole in the center iof a native american cave wall that had drawings that pointed to Clark's origins. There was also a keyslot in an inner chamber which was inside that cave wall. It was this inner chamber where Clark could often speak to the essence of his biological father, Jor-El. This is why Clark had grabbed the key in the first place.

Clark then looked at his reflection in the key's face. He then knew what he had to do. He then turned around and saw someone he wans't planning to see.

Lex Luthor was standing right behind him, looking at him square in the eye.


	9. Chapter 8

CHAPTER EIGHT

Clark looked at Lex, and saw him just standing there, looking at him with a sinister look in his eyes. Lex had completely caught him off guard. His parents hadn't told him Lex was coming. They usually did. But things had gotten a little strained in the past year. Just after his seventeenth birthday, Clark had discovered a room where Lex had been investigating everything about Clark. This and many other things put a strain on their friendship. They had both tried to mend it. But it wasn't going anywhere. That was why Clark was a little antsy around Lex.

"Lex," said Clark, a little unnerved. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, Clark," said Lex, "I wanted to offer you and your parents safe passage out of here on the Luthorcorp jet. The roads are going to get pretty ugly soon."

As Lex offerred that offer, Clark tucked the key into his jacket sleeve so that Lex would not see the key, as Lex had two years ago tried to find the key to discover the mysteries around it. Clark nodded at Lex's offer very uneasily. "Uh . . . thanks, Lex, but I think we'll be okay," said Clark, as he put the key safely into his jeans pocket, away from Lex's view.

Lex just stared at Clark in amazement, almost as if he were studying Clark. The look in Lex's eyes was beginning to make Clark feel a little uneasy. He hoped Lex wouldn't notice his uneasiness.

"Clark, why take the risk? The first meteor shower caused me irrevocable damage," asked Lex, pointing to his bald head, "Trust me, you don't want to be anywhere near here when the next one hits."

"Thanks, Lex," said Clark, happy that Lex's attention wasn't riveted on him and the key, "but I think my dad's gonna want to pack the truck with as much as we can take."

"I understand. Some things can't be replaced," Lex nodded and smiled, and walked towards Clark's barnloft balcony. "Clark, my scientists have detected what looks to be an inner chamber inside the cave wall." As Lex said this, he stared up at the sky, as if gazing heavenward.

This, of course, Clark already knew. For he had discovered that chamber earlier this year. But he couldn't let Lex know that. "Oh, really?"

"It's true, Clark. I couldn't believe it myself. But I was wondering if your research into the cave might've turned up anything similar," said Lex, as he turned towards Clark.

Clark looked away and knew he had to change the subject soon and quickly. "Uh . . . no. Lex, why are you so worried about those caves when there's a natural disaster headed our way?"

Lex just smiled at Clark. "Clark, if there's anything that's irreplaceable in Smallville, it's those caves. They've been around for thousands of years, and they could very well be destroyed in the ne--"

Clark nodded and interrupted, determined to change the subject now. "Well, let's hope they're not. Look, I appreciate your concern, but I really need to get back to helping my parents. Goodbye, Lex, and good luck."

Lex smiled at Clark again, this time with a wider grin." Thanks, Clark, but I don't believe in luck. It's our wits and our fortitude that keep us safe," saiud Lex, as he headed down the stairs of Clark's loft. "And I believe that you have more than enough of both. Stay safe, Clark."

Lex then walked down stairs and headed out, as Clark continued to stare at the bright blue skies of Smallville. He almost hated to think that those skies would have fire coming down from them. That fire would be the fires of meteors. Had the meteor shower returned to finally destroy Smallville forever? Clark hoped not, for everything and everyone he knew and loved was here.

Then Clark headed to his barnloft balcony, and saw Lex's Porsche drive away. Then, Clark ran as fast as he knew how, to the caves that he and Lex were speaking of. Clark needed to speak to his father, Jor-El.

Meanwhile in the skies above Earth, a volition of meteors began to pass their way across the cosmos. The meteors had began to break down as they started to head to Earth's atmosphere.

It would only be a matter of time before they entered the atmosphere of the planet Earth. But in the darkness of space, a stronger object flew amidst the meteors.


	10. Chapter 9

CHAPTER NINE

Clark had finally arrived at the cave. He stared all over the walls. In thw walls were many symbols. They were symbols from his home. Many symbols connected to him. On the cave wall was a story told. The story was of the savior, Naman, who came in a rain of fire from the sky to save the world. Clark didn't have time to dwell on that, though. He needed to speak with Jor-El.

Clark then placed his hand on the cave wall. The cave wall illuminated. The symbols rotated, and three symbols illuminated the colors of red, blue, and yellow. The cave wall then opened and illuminated. Clark entered into the chamber and in the chamber was a stone table. On the stone table was a circle of symbols with a diamond-shaped recess, where lied at the corner of the diamond, a transparent crystal with a symbol on it. Also near the diamond recess, was a keyslot.

Clark held the key in his hand, and looked upward. "If you're my father, talk to me," said Clark, as if talking to the key. Then, Clark inserted the key into the keyslot. "TELL ME WHAT YOU'VE DONE!"

After he inserted the key into the keyslot, a backlash of energy enveloped Clark, and he had entered a nexus of energy, where there was a void, with an energy plane where Clark stood. In the midst of the void, Clark heard a voice, say, as if in accusation, _"It was you who brought you upon yourself, Kal-El."_

"What did _I_ do!"

_"I sent you here to unite the three elements."_

Was that why Clark was sent to Earth? To collect those crystals that Lana and Lex were searching for?"The crystals! But they have nothing to do with me!"

_"But they do, Kal-El, for the knowledge of the universe was meant for you alone. Yet you chose to deny your heritage. Today you will witness the consequences of your actions."_

"So you sent a meteor shower? For my mistakes?" asked Clark.

_"I have done nothing, Kal-El. Human blood has stained one of the elements and awakened a great danger from the darkness of space."_

A danger headed for Earth? That must've been the meteor shower Jor-El was talking about."What can I do to stop it?" demanded Clark.

_"There is nothing you can do to prevent what is already in motion. But the meteor shower is not the danger. It is just the beginning, Kal-El. I warned you that the elements could not fall into the hands of a human. The three must become one. It is the only way to save Earth from total annihilation."_

"I don't know where they are! I don't have time to find them."

_"If you don't unite them at once, you, my son, will be seared by a fire from the sky. Even you can't survive. The future of mankind rests in your hands, Kal-El."_

So Smallville was not only in danger, but it was the whole world if he didn't unite the three crystals? "Please, help me", he begged Jor-El, "I can't do this alone"

Then, immediately, a surge of energy backlashed him from the nexus and blasted Clark back into the cave. He immediately awakened after the backlash and looked at the stone table and saw the diamond-shape recess on it, which had one crystal in it. One of three, he reminded himself. He also looked at the keyslot next to the diamond-recess, and it was empty. The key had disappeared. He couldn't believe it. Not only need to find the remaining two crystals, but the key, as well.

Then,as if inside his head, he heard a voice. _"Remember, Kal-El,"_ said the voice, which Clark recognized as Jor-El, _"Time is of the essence."_

Then, Clark stared at the stone table with the one crystal in the center and ran at super-speed out of the cave to find the remaining two crystals and the key, as well. If he didn't, the consequences could be severe. Not only for Smallville, but the entire planet.

Above in the darkness of space, meteors were rocketing towards the planet Earth at an accelerated rate. Many meteors began to burn up under the pressure of Earth's atmosphere.

The meteors continued to go on their trajected path with one goal: destruction!

Clark ran out of the cave, and couldn't find either of the crystals or the key. He was beginning to get frustrated. Everything and everyone in the world if he failed to act. Clark needed to head home, but that would be a good place on this mission or quest or some other thing that you find in a comic book.

Clark finally arrived at the Kent barn to find his mom putting their dog Shelby into the truck and his dad was securing all the objects in the truck. His dad looked up and saw Clark arrive quickly. "Clark, great," he said, as he got down from the truck, and handed Clark a cord, "Why don't you help me secure the truck?"

Clark shook his head. "No, dad, you two are going to have to go ahead without me."

Clark's mom looked at him with a look of absolute shock. "What?"

Clark's dad just looked at him with stern determination. "Do I have to remind you, Clark, that the last time there was a meteor shower in Smallville that it was full of green meteor rocks?"

Clark's mom nodded in agreement. "If the same thing happens today, the meteor shower could kill you. You have to come with us now."

Clark looked at his parents with a look of grim determination. "I spoke to Jor-El."

Clark's parents looked at him in dissatisfaction, which was reasonable considering what they bknew of Jor-El. He had pushed Clark to do so many things that caused unhappiness and tragedy within the Kent family.

"Jor-El told me that I have to find the other two crystals right now and unite it with the one in the cave, or the whole world will be destroyed," explained Clark.

"NO! YOU'RE MY SON! YOU'RE NOT GOING TO GO ON SOME KIND OF SUICIDE MISSION!" cried out Martha to Clark.

Jonathan stood beside his wife and held her tightly to calm her down. "Clark, you might be stronger than steel, but you are NOT invincible."

Clark nodded in agreement, and said grimly, "I know, dad, but I'm the only one who can do this."

Jonathan Kent stared at his son with sadness, but Clark only stared him down with a look of sad determination, saying he was scared but kn ew he had to do it. Then, Jonathan looked at his wife Martha and she looked at Clark and saw the same thing. Jonathan then nodded. "All right."

He then held Clark's shoulders tightly, and looked him in the eyes. He could see in Clark's eyes the eyes of a child and the eyes of a man. "All right. But I want you to listen to me right now. All the years that your mother and I spent raising you from a . . . wide-eyed toddler running around on this farm to the man who is standing in front of me right now was for this moment."

Clark stared into his father's eyes. Clark was scared, and was glad that he had his father to turn to when he needed him. He was glad he had a father like Jonathan Kent. But he could tell Jonathan was scared for Clark, but at the same time, he sensed that strong belief in him, as well. "You do this, son. You make us proud."

Clark nodded with that grim determination. Then, both Jonathan Kent and Clark Kent sank into each others' arms in an intimnate father-son embrace, hoping that they would see each other again. Clark didn't want to let go. He hoped that the longer he held onto Jonathan's embrace, he could leech some of the inner strength that his father had.

Then, father and son broke off the embrace, and Clark turned to his mother, who stood there, as if she was about to break down right there. Then, Martha Kent sank into her son's arms. She held her son in a n intimate embrace in which she hoped would not be the last. Then, both Jonathan and Martha Kent stared into Clark. They looked at him, as if telling him to go do this thing he was about to do.

Martha just looked at Clark and said to him, "Now, go, Clark. Be brave and don't look back."

Jonathan nodded at Clark, as if telling him to hurry his butt on over. Clark then turned around to go to the barn to see if the key might've disappeared there after Jor-El spoke to him in the cave. So he headed into the barn, and did not look back just as his mother had told him not to.

Martha Kent turned around and faced Jonathan with a look of grim sadness and worry that they might not see their son again. She then reminded her husband of one grim fact. "Those meteors can kill him, Jonathan."

As Jonathan secured the truck with all their stuff they would need for the evacuation, he replied and faced his wife. "I know that, sweetheart. But if we have faith in our son, then we can't let that faith waver now."

Martha then began to cry as she sank into Jonathan's arms, and they held onto each other tightly, hoping their son would come out of this quest he had decided to embark on.

Clark then walked into the barn furiously, trying to see if the key was in the barn. As he was in the middle of doing that, he saw a young slender woman leaning on a beam in the barn, very sad. She was slender, and had long black hair. Clark knew in an instant who it was.

It was Lana.


End file.
